The Difference Between Direct Response and Brand Response TV Advertising

There are different approaches to advertising on television. All have their place, and all are powerful if used appropriately and crafted with the expertise of a great TV advert production company. However, knowing which approach to use can seem difficult.

Of course, there are different ways to divide up television advertising into categories. One of the simplest and most important things to bear in mind is the distinction between two types: direct response and brand response. These can both be highly effective in increasing sales and driving new business through your door. However, most companies will be much better-suited to one than the other, so understanding the differences is important in getting good results from your television marketing campaign.

Direct Response TV Advertising

Direct response TV or DRTV advertising derives its name from the fact that it urges the viewer to respond directly to the company. Usually, it will also encourage them to do so immediately or as soon as possible. Perhaps the purest form of DRTV production is the kind of advert that displays a phone number on the screen clearly and prominently throughout its running time and urges the viewer to pick up the phone right away. However, direct response advertising can also be designed to send people to a website or, more rarely, into a specific physical store. The key point is that they are responding directly to the company in order to procure specific products and services.

DRTV is extremely effective in the hands of certain companies, and particularly certain industries. It is generally used to sell services, such as legal or insurance services, most often but can also be highly effective as a way of selling physical products. In the latter case, it has traditionally been used to encourage customers to come directly to the manufacturer rather than going through retail channels. Increasingly over time, however, this approach has also been adopted by retailers. In order to be effective, DRTV must be built around a strong sales message and make sure contact information is as clear as possible, making the services of a good TV advert production company all the more essential.

Brand Response Advertising

Brand response TV advertising, on the other hand, does not encourage the customers to come directly to your company. Rather, it raises awareness of your brand and encourages the viewer of the advert to engage with that, usually via an intermediary such as a retailer that stocks your products.

Brand response advertising may focus on specific products from your brand, or it may merely promote the brand itself and encourage potential customers to engage with your full product range. There will be no contact information in the advert, but it will outline why your products are superior and worth buying, and then urge people to take action. Probably the most common action that viewers are encouraged to take is to seek out a product for themselves the next time they are shopping, and put it in their basket so they can try it out and find out what makes it so good.

Luke Cairns

Producer/Editor

www.vimeo.com/butchershook